BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS FOCUSED LASER beams of attention last week on a bill ineptly dubbed the "American Jobs, Closing Tax Loopholes and Business Relief Act of 2010."

So far, the two houses haven't agreed on a final version, but it's clear that the jobs it might preserve are mostly jobs that local and state governments deem not worth paying for with their own taxes. The loopholes it would close are tiny compared to those...